Salvation Army distribution center ceasing operations

YVETTE OROZCO

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, October 12, 2005

The center, located on 5950 Fairmont Parkway, opened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It served as a donation distribution facility for evacuees from the Gulf Coast region seeking shelter in Pasadena and the surrounding areas. The relief efforts continue, however.

"We're going in to our next phase of distribution assistance or recover assistance," said Salvation Army spokesperson Beverly Pop.

The demand is still there - with the center seeing about 100 families a day, according to Pop - and the Salvation Army will simply be transferring its relief efforts through other means.

"Our next transitional phase is Christmas registration," she said. "That is one of the ways we are assisting evacuees as well as our own families here in town."

Christmas registration is a program the Salvation Army conducts through five of its centers throughout Houston, including the Pasadena location at 2732 Cherrybrook. This Saturday, registration will take place at the Cherrybrook location from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Salvation Army fills out a brief application and asks low-income families what their wishes and needs for Christmas assistance. There will be an appointment slip time to which that family will come back to the origin of where they applied to receive gifts for the holidays during the month of December.

"It's something we've always done but we know we're going to see an amazingly high increase as a result of the evacuation from Katrina and Rita," Pop said. "It's probably more for Katrina because I think they're going to be with us for about six months to 18 months - that's our projection."

At local Salvation Army community centers, registration will be taking place all through next week.

Pop said the organization will be managing emergency assistance for evacuees through its social services programs, primarily at 1500 Austin St. in Houston and the Cherrybrook center.

Although operation of the distribution center will officially cease on Friday, the center will be open on Monday and Tuesday - from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - for those who need clothing.

"The distribution center is just inundated with clothing," Pop said. "We understand that a lot of people, in addition to evacuees, might have need of clothing and so anyone who wishes to get clothing is free to go there and get clothing."

Pop said the Salvation Army has contacted the consulate for Pakistan in an effort to distribute the overflow of clothing donations to other recent disaster victims, including those in Central America.

"If we've got items here in surplus that can maybe be utilized in other areas, we would be glad to collaborate," she said.

"The Salvation Army is an international organization - so we're immediately there responding; we're just wanting to avail them of in-kind donations here if we got them to send, we want to send them," Pop said. "The problem is we've got some a mammoth undertaking with regards to getting clothes to people who may need it and may not need it."

As for those evacuees and residents in Pasadena, Pop said the donations will be available for the last time Monday and Tuesday of next week.

"Just know that it's there and we're not going through registration," she said.

As many Katrina evacuees begin to settle and integrate themselves into the community through the workforce, the Salvation Army plans to continue providing relief for those still struggling. Pop said the distribution center proved to be an important force during its relief efforts.

"We've driven out everything possible," she said. "We've probably assisted nearly 50,000 individuals through that distribution center since it began; it's been a very successful venture and it was in the perfect place."

Pop thanked the mayor's office in Pasadena on behalf of the Salvation Army, which she said was helpful throughout the center's operation. She also acknowledged the importance of community involvement in relief efforts.

"The Salvation Army has genuinely appreciated the collaborative efforts," she said.